CompTIA CDIA+ Exam in Beta

CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, has announced that it will run the beta version of the exam for its CDIA+ (Certified Document Imaging Architech) certification through the end of July, though that could be extended if it is determined that more data is required. The launch date for the final updated exam, which is tied to the end of the beta-testing phase, is expected to be in August or September.

“This is the first full refresh of the CompTIA CDIA+ certification exam since its launch in 2002,” said Miles Jobgen, product manager in CompTIA’s skills development group. “The knowledge and skill areas on the beta exam are identical to the current exam, though there are all new questions measuring those skills and knowledge. I do not feel the beta exam will be more challenging than it currently is, but the overall difficulty cannot truly be determined until the results of the beta are analyzed.”

Like most tests in this stage of development, the CompTIA CDIA+ beta will contain more questions than the live exam that follows. The beta test has 95 multiple-choice questions that must be completed in 120 minutes, whereas the current live version consists of 85 questions within a 90-minute span. Although this phase has already started, CompTIA is still seeking additional beta testers to help whittle the test down to an acceptable finished product.

“We need enough testers to be able to make sound statistical and psychometric decisions on the quality of the items, ultimately, the more the better,” Jobgen said. “The purpose of the beta exam is to validate that the new items included on the test are truly relevant to the job skills required of an IT professional—in this case, individuals working in the document imaging and management field. We also encourage beta exam test-takers to offer their comments and feedback, because they are the people working with these technologies. This validation and feedback process is typically completed after a few hundred beta exams are completed.”

More than 4,600 individuals around the world hold CompTIA CDIA+ certification, and Jobgen expects that this number will swell as the market for printers, copiers, faxes and multi-function products continues to grow. “As with many other technologies, the document imaging market is undergoing rapid change,” he said. “New products with new features and functions have entered the market in the last several years. Customer usage and expectations of what document imaging solutions can do for their business have grown as well. The overall need for customized document production is growing.”